Back in 2002, the Commonwealth of Virginia boasted its best-ever recruiting
class, on paper. The top of the class was headed by major national recruits such
as Ahmad Brooks, Marcus Vick and Kai Parham. This was the most top flight talent
that Virginia had ever produced, as many of those players garnered offers from
some of the top programs in the country. Despite such impressive offer lists,
most of those players decided to stay in-state.
Coming off a disappointing season in which UVA didn’t finish .500, new head
coach Al Groh pulled a major recruiting coup when he signed some of the top
players in the state ahead of Frank Beamer and the Hokies. Highly touted
linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham headlined the UVA class. A total of five
of the Roanoke Times top ten players signed with UVA, while only two signed with
Virginia Tech.